FAQ

Q: "Why should I choose Original Attic Stairs?"A: Basically what it boils down to is quality and price! We supply and fit great products while providing a great service, at a price which represents good value for you, the customer.

Q: "What does the full 10 year guarantee cover?"

A: Everything. Provided your attic stairs was not damaged trough recklessness (ie. exceeding the max weight etc.) There will be no charge for parts, no charge for labour and no charge for the call out.

Q: "When you say "Free measuring & quote" is there a call out charge?"A: No. When we say free measuring and quote, we mean it. This will include a representative of ours calling to your house, going trough any works which need to be carried out and recommending which one of our extensive range of attic stairs is most suitable for your particular situation. This process will take about 10 to 15 minutes.

Q: "Do you cover the Dublin area?"A: Yes we supply and fit in Dublin and all surrounding areas. We are typically in the Dublin area, two or three days every week.

Q: "Do you cover all of Ireland?"A: Yes, between us and our agents we are able to supply products to the 26 counties of the Republic of Ireland. We also have an installation option for the majority of the country.

Q: "How long is the waiting time once I place an order?"A: The waiting time for fitting is generally about 10 working days.

Q: "How long is fitting going to take on the day?"A: On average it will take us about 2 hours for an installation. It can quite often take less time for many of the products in our standard range but products from our custom range may take longer.

Q: "Will my hatch need to be altered to suit?"A: In all likely hood yes. 99% of trapdoor openings have to be altered in order to fit a high quality, sealed unit attic stairs. This work is included in the "Supply & Fit" prices which are stated on each of our products pages. The work will be carried to the highest of standards, both structurally and ascetically by our trained carpenters. This ensures the finished product will both look the part, and will last for many years to come.

Q: "Do you charge extra for creating a new opening?"A: No we do not. If your opening cannot be altered to suite any of our extensive range of attic stairs, because of any reason, structural or otherwise, we do not charge extra to create a new opening in a different area of your ceiling. This work will be included in the "Supply & Fit" prices, which are stated on each products page.

Q: "Will there be much dust and/or mess created by the works being completed?"A: In most cases there is very little dust and/or mess created, but in any event, the fitters at Original Attic Stairs take care to cover all surfaces with dust proof sheets and clean up any mess on completion of the works.

Q: "Do you except card payments?"A: Yes. We except Visa credit and debit cards and also MasterCard credit and Maestro debit. We are also now able to except American Express cards. It is also important to note that we are fully PCI compliant, so your data is safe with us!

Q: "Are you H.R.I. registered?"A: Yes, we are a fully registered contractor for the Home Renovations Incentive scheme (H.R.I.).

Q: "How much weight can your ladders take?"A: All of our standard range are tested and certified to withstand 160 kilos. While are custom range are tested to withstand 260 kilos.

Q: "Do you fit attic flooring?"A: Yes, if we are fitting one of our ladders for you, we offer the option of high quality professionally fitting attic flooring.

Q: "Do you fit attic lights?"A: We offer the option of high quality wireless LED lights, which are designed for outdoor use. We do not install wired lights which are wired to the mains electricity of your home. Under the latest laws, the fitting of a light fixture and switch must be carried out by a registered electrician. We urge you to be wary of any company who specialize in installing attic ladders, who offer this service. If these works are carried out by an unregistered installer, any accidents or damages will not be covered by your insurance company.

Energy Saving Tips

So we thought we would put together a few handy energy saving tips for you to consider, which can help you reduce your energy costs and also be a little kinder to the environment (which is no bad thing, right?).

We want to make your home more energy efficient so why not try implementing some of these ideas, they could make a real difference.

TURN DOWN YOUR THERMOSTAT. We're not talking 10°C here, but if you reduce the temperature on your thermostat by as little as 1ºC, which lets face it, you're not going to notice, you can save as much as 10% on your heating bill.

GET ENERGY SAVING BULBS. If some of the lights in your house are on for a number of hours every day, it really is worth switching to energy saving bulbs. Traditional light bulbs are incredibly inefficient, they use about 90% of their energy through heat rather than light. The technology in energy saving bulbs has greatly improved in recent years, gone are the days when it took half an hour for the bulb to brighten up. Not only are energy saving bulbs pretty much on a par with traditional bulbs in terms of lighting, their life span is about 12 times longer and they use only around ¼ of the energy.

THERMOSTATIC RADIATOR VALVES (TRV's). If your radiators do not have these, get them installed, they will assist with the tip below.

TURN DOWN RADIATORS IN UNUSED ROOMS. Turn down or turn off the radiators in unused rooms in your house, and also remember to close the doors into these rooms. This reduces the area your heating system has to heat, allowing it to use less energy in the process.

CLOSE YOUR CURTAINS AT NIGHT. An extremely large proportion of the heat lost from your home, is lost trough the windows. Your curtains can act as a great insulator. Make sure to tuck the curtains up onto the windowsill if there is a radiator under the window, this will prevent the heat going straight up behind the curtain and out the window.

BUY ENERGY EFFICIENT APPLIANCES. Especially if you a purchasing something like a new washing machine, pay attention to EU Energy Label, the appliance will be rated from A - G, "A" being the most energy efficient and "G" being the least.

USE YOUR APPLIANCES WISELY. There is no point in buying an extremely energy efficient fridge and then leaving it open while you are pouring milk in your tea! Also opening your oven when you don't need to, while you are cooking dinner can be quite wasteful in terms of energy usage. A good tip for this is to keep your oven door clean so you can look in without opening the door, to make sure that chicken is cooking nicely!

DON"T STANDBY, TURN OFF. If you leave an appliance ie. your TV on standby it will use 20% more energy than if your switch it off completely. This is also the same for things like washing machines.

BOIL LESS WATER. Need a cup of tea? There's no need to boil a full kettle of water, if you just boil the amount you need, you will greatly reduce the amount of energy used. It is also not recommended to reboil Irish tap water as fluoride may become more concentrated when the water is boiled for too long or reboiled.

SHOP AROUND. For anyone who is still weary about changing energy supplier, you really shouldn't be. It is worth going to competitors of your energy supplier and seeing what kind of deal they can offer. Quite often you could save 10 - 15% on your bill. If you do not want to change provider, most of them will offer you the same discount if you tell them you have been offered it by another company.

What is a Building Energy Rating (BER)?

A Building Energy Rating is a certificate and advisory report given to a home. The certificate shows the homes currant "Energy Rating", on an A to G scale, A being the highest or best performing buildings and G being the lowest or worst performing buildings, in terms of energy efficiency. An A rated home is likely to be highly insulated, allowing the building to be heated using much less energy, while a G rated home will be the opposite. The advisory report will then outline possible ways to improve on the buildings energy efficacy which will ultimately lead to an improved energy rating.

BERs are carried out by registered independent assessors, who must have completed a credited training course. To calculate a BER the heating of the home, heating of the water, lighting and ventilation are all taken into account. The most important considerations relating to these areas are the size and layout of the home, the heating system and the water heating system and also the insulation. The energy performance will be given in the following format:

Energy use per unit floor area per year (kWh/m2/yr)

and

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions (kgCO2/m2/yr)

A BER does not take into account the energy usage of electrical appliances such as fridges, cookers, washing machines and televisions. The BER will only have accounted for electricity used related to heating, lighting, pumps and fans.

It is the home owners responsibility to provide a Building Energy Rating when offering a home for sale or rent. The details of the BER details must also be provided on any advertisements relating to sale or rent. This is important as it provides the potential buyer or renter vital information on how much the home will cost to run, which ultimately affects the sale and/or rental value of the property.

For the best possible BER we would recommend choosing us to fit one of our "Thermo Extra" attic stairs.

Tips for motorists.

Tips for driving long journeys.

Tips for people who drive a lot.

Tips for road safety.

As part of Original Attic Stairs' fitting or installation service we travel all over Ireland every day. So here we would like to share with you some tips and ideas that may make your journeys a little less stressful, possibly save you a few euro and perhaps more importantly, contribute to road safety.

PLAN YOUR ROUTE. Before you set off it is always a good idea to have a look at which route you are going to take to get to your destination. We do highly recommend Google Maps for your smart phone to act as a "SAT NAV", it is by far the most accurate mapping system available today (far better than any expensive purpose built sat nav we have used!). But even when you're using these devices, it is still a good idea to know roughly where you are going beforehand.

HAVE A SECOND DRIVER WHENEVER POSSIBLE. Having a second person in the car who can drive is always a good idea. Make sure they are insured to drive your car before you leave.

CHECK YOUR TYRES. Before you set off, you should have a quick check of your tyres to make sure there are no bulges on the wall of the tyre and to make sure they are not excessively worn. This could prevent a blow-out and also may insure you will be able to stop the car suddenly without getting into a skid, particularly in poor weather conditions.

TAKE PLENTY OF BREAKS. In accordance with EU rules on drivers, the road safety authority state that it is mandatory for professional drives to take a 45 minute break for every 4.5 hours driven, we would strongly recommend that this is broken down to at least a 20 minute break for every 2 hours driven, for professional and non-professional drivers alike.

FILL YOUR TANK. Fill up on fuel at your local filling station, there aren't always filling stations where you might expect them to be, so filling up before you leave is a good idea.

KEEP YOUR WINDOW WASHER FULL. This sounds simple and obvious but not having liquid in your window washer can be quite dangerous, particularly on a winters morning when the sun is low in the sky and the road is wet. It becomes very difficult to see when your windscreen is dirty and the sun is blinding you.

EAT BEFORE YOU LEAVE HOME. Grabbing food on the road is extremely expensive in Ireland, so you can save yourself a few euro by eating at home before you set off.

SET UP AN EFLOW (or Similar) ACCOUNT. For people who travel with any great frequency, we would strongly recommend setting up an EFLOW account and getting one of there tags. Not only is it faster and easier than fumbling around looking for change at a toll or forgetting to pay the M50 toll on time, in some cases it can actually save you money. There is a €1(+VAT) monthly service charge but in some cases, such as the M50 where there is a €1 reduction in the cost of the toll itself, it does not take many journeys to pay for the service charge. You can pay monthly or top up your account when you need it. The tolls which are covered by EFLOW tags are as follows: M50 Dublin - M1 Meath & Louth - M3 Dublin & Meath - M4 Dublin Kildare & Westmeath - N6 Galway - M7 Laois - N8 Cork - N25 Waterford - Dublin Tunnel - East Link Bridge Dublin - Limerick Tunnel.

FAILING THAT MAKE SURE YOU HAVE PLENTY OF CHANGE. You don't want to be one of those people holding up several cars at a toll, because you can't find any change, do you?

LEAVE YOUR DIPPED LIGHTS ON. In a country like Ireland with short winter days and regular poor weather conditions we should all have our dipped lights left on. If your lights are focused correctly (which they will have to be to pass an NCT test) there is no reason why they cannot be left on constantly, even when you don't think you need them. Getting into this habit will get rid of the possibility of you forgetting to turn them on if conditions worsen while you are on the road.

WATCH OUT FOR VULNERABLE MOTORISTS. Always keep an eye out for vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists, particularly in poor weather conditions.

LEAVE YOUR PHONE ALONE. If your phone rings and you do not have an appropriate hands free car kit, you should not even look at it until you have pulled in safely. We are all busy and trying to keep on top of things but there are very few phone call that can't (really) wait, particularly if it could save your or someone else's life!

Ladder Safety

We would like to inform you of the best practices when using some of the most commonly used types of ladders (we have some experience in this area :). This is quite important, as if used incorrectly, ladders can be very dangerous. This is highlighted by the fact that one third of all reported "fall from a height" incidences involve ladders. If you fall from a ladder at any height, the chances of getting injured in some way are very high, serious injuries are common and even death is an actual possibility.

In this piece we will be focusing mainly on step and extension (straight) ladders but if the only need you have for a ladder is to get into your attic / loft, the safest thing you can do is to get professionals like us to install a folding attic ladder unit, which we be solid and safe without having to worry about many of the following safety precautions (although, some of them still apply!).

CHOOSE THE CORRECT (APPROPRIATE) LADDER FOR THE JOB. This is very important as using the incorrect ladder for a certain job will greatly increase the risk of falling and/or injury. For instance, if you are changing a light bulb, you should use a step ladder or if you want to clear a blockage in your gutter you should use an extension or straight ladder. (And if you want to get into your attic / loft, get Original Attic Stairs to install an appropriate product for you :). This is mainly common sense, but if you are unsure you should always ask someone with experience or at least Google it!

INSURE THE LADDER IS THE CORRECT HEIGHT FOR THE JOB. Once you have chosen the correct type of ladder for the task you wish to carry out, it is also very important that it is the correct height. Under no circumstances must you overstretch to the point of being off balance while you are on a ladder of any kind. You should not stand on the top two steps of a ladder (with the exception of an attic stairs), this means your ladder must be high enough for you to comfortably reach your work area without standing on eider of the top two steps.

SET UP THE LADDER CORRECTLY AND APPROPRIATELY. Any ladder needs to be set up facing your work, you should never turn around and lean on a ladder with you back. All ladders (Particularly step ladders) need to be set up on a firm and level base for complete stability. If you are using an extension (straight) ladder you must set it up at the correct angle, the distance from the ground to the ladders point of contact with the wall must be 4 times the distance of the wall to the base of the ladder (4:1 ratio). You should also secure an extension ladder at the top (by tying it to an anchor point) and at the bottom (by securing it with weight etc.)

INSPECT BEFORE USE. Before using any ladder you must inspect it. You need to look of for excessive ware and damage, such as rust, lose screws and/or rivets and cracks or brakes.

WEAR WHAT'S RIGHT FOR THE JOB. You need appropriate footwear (no sandals or slippers!). Don't wear excessively baggy clothes which could get caught or snagged on a nail or screw. If you are carrying tools you should wear a tool belt so you can have safe access to your hammer etc.

MAINTAIN 3 POINTS OF CONTACT. When climbing any ladder you should always maintain 3 points of contact, which means basically that at any given moment you should always have your two feet and one hand on the ladder or two hands and one foot.

Different Insulation Types Explained

In this piece will be giving you some information on some of the most commonly used types of insulation. Being Original Attic Stairs will will be focusing primarily on the most common insulation types which are used to insulate an attic or a loft space.

FIBREGLASS. Fibreglass is produced by spinning molten glass into micro fibres. It is likely to be the most commonly used attic insulation, this is largely due to its ready availability and cost effectiveness. DIY installation is relatively easy but it is not a nice material to work with, the fibres get into your pores and can cause skin irritation (a hot shower is the only thing that helps!!). It is also important to avoid breathing in the fibres. Because of this it is very important to wear the appropriate gear i.e. gloves, body suit and mask.

ROCK WOOL. Rock Wool is similar in appearance to fibreglass but is produced using molten rock instead of glass. It is also readily available and cost effective. When comparing it to fibreglass the main pros would be that rock wool is more environmentally friendly (up to 90% recycled content) and has a better fire resistance. On the down side, it is possible for rock wool to foster mould if it gets wet. The same safety gear must be worn, however we find this material more pleasant to work with.

SPRAY FOAM. Liquid spray foam is a very effective insulator which has a very high U value. It is applied using a pump a hose and a spray gun. Whilst being applied the foam expands to 100 times its original size, which helps to ensure no gaps are left. The most common method is to spray between the rafters (compared to insulating between the ceiling joists). The down side to this method of insulation is that it must be carried out using the proper equipment, by a professional. Because of this, it is one of the more expensive options.

RIGID FOAM. Rigid Foam is ordinarily constructed using polyurethane, polystyrene or polyisocyanates. It is extremely effective as an insulator but it can be arduous to install as each piece has to be cut to fit in between each joist, which makes it awkward to fit around obstacles and into unusually shape spaces . It is again one of the more expensive options.

CELLULOSE. Cellulose insulation is extremely effective as an insulator and is also much more environmentally friendly as it is made of of 100% recycled paper material such as new paper. One downside is that the material is very dusty, another is that it would be the most prone to settling and loosing much of the air within its self (and thus decrease its value as an insulator) over time. It is applied by pumping in the loose material. This method again requires the proper equipment and a trained professional, so it can be costly.

SHEEP WOOL. Sheep wool is also an extremely effective insulator and is extremely environmentally friendly, being a natural product, with no unfortunate by-products of construction. Sheep wool is a great choice for people trying to achieve a low impact building. It is important to note where you are getting your wool from, if it is coming from a few miles away then it virtually is a zero carbon option but if it is being imported from another country then this clearly isn't the case.

So there you have it, there are of course many other options in the world of insulation (we may indeed add some more information to this post in the future) but we do hope the information we did provide was helpful.

Engineered Wood Explained (Man Made Timber)

In this piece will will be telling you a little bit about the most commonly used types of engineered wood.

PLYWOOD: Plywood is constructed by gluing together layers of veneers. The layers are stuck together using a high quality water proof glue and are heated up and compressed during the gluing process. The grain direction of each veneer is revered on each level, this adds strength to the sheet. Plywood is strong enough to be used as a structural material, it has many applications in construction, such as shuttering.

MEDIUM DENSITY FIBREBOARD (MDF): MDF is constructed by turning left over wood chippings into dust and combining them with glue and wax, the sheet is then heated up and compressed during the gluing process. MDF cannot be used as a structural material but it has many uses fro indoor application such as furniture making.

ORIENTED STRAND BOARD (OSB): OSB is constructed using strands of wood, usually a few inches long by a couple of inches wide. The strands are stuck together with a high quality water proof glue and the grain is again reversed for each layer. OSB can also be used for many of the construction applications that plywood can. We use 8 foot by 2 foot tongued and grooved OSB2 for our attic flooring.

GLUE LAMINATED TIMBER (GLULAM): GLULAM is constructed of layers and layers of timber glued together with strong water proof glue. They can be made into long robust timbers which can be used as structural supports, both horizontal and vertical. They are also shapable at the manufacturing stage and so can be created curved.

HARDBOARD: Hardboard is similar to MDF but is much more dense and it is often constructed using no resin. It is often used in furniture making as the back board of cupboards etc. Hardboard is used as the outer skin of the trapdoors of our standard range of folding attic stairs.

BLOCKBOARD: Blockboard is constructed of a centre of lats of softwood such as pine which are sandwiched between two layers of hardwood veneers. They are then compressed together and glued wit a high quality resin.

CHIPBOARD: Chipboard is constructed by compressing together timber shavings or sawdust with a resin or glue. Chipboard is generally used because it is cheap but it does not stand up well to moisture, meaning it cannot be used outside.

We hope this was informative for you and if you have any questions, please let us know.

Buyers Guide For Tools

In this piece we will be reviewing what we consider to be many of the best power and hand tools available to buy. Being Original Attic Stairs we will be focusing on tools which would most commonly be used by a carpenter. We will only be mentioning tools that we own, have owned and/or have used extensively. All of the tools in this piece are pro grade, we will not be considering any DIY tools (they are just no good!!). And we would also like to add that we do not have any affiliation with any manufacture and all of the views expressed in this article are just our opinion.

Power Tools

Drills

Cordless

(We recommend a 14v battery cordless drill for general use)

Top Picks: DeWalt / Hitachi / Milwaukee

Our Choice: DeWalt - Just buy a DeWalt cordless! Members of the Original Attic Stairs team have been using DeWalt cordless drills for about 20 years. We still use a 15 year old one as a back up which is kept in one of our vans, after 15 years, it still works! We use them all day long screwing down attic flooring and they excel at general use, a great all rounder!

SDS/Hammer

Top Picks: DeWalt / Hitachi / Milwaukee

Our Choice: Milwaukee - A great choice, excellently built, bags of power and comfortable to use. Whether you are boring timber steel or concrete a Milwaukee will get the job done with ease.

Skill Saws

Battery

(We recommend a 14v battery cordless drill for general use)

Top Picks: DeWalt / Hitachi

Our Choice: DeWalt - We use an 18v Dewalt skill saw on site when installing attic flooring, a fantastic machine which never lets us down.

Wired

(For on site use a power tool must be 110v and used with a transformer, for home use 240v with a standard plug is fine)

Top Picks: DeWalt / Hitachi / Makita

Our Choice: Makita - For a powered skill saw you can't get better than a Makita. We use them both on site and in our workshop.

Jig Saws

(We would recommend using only wired Jig Saws, in our opinion a battery unbalances the machine)

Sanders

Our Choice: Hitachi - We find this to be the best value palm sander, the same quality as the rest but we have been able to pick them up cheaper.

Orbital

Top Picks: DeWalt / Hitachi / Makita

Our Choice: Makita - We use a Makita orbital to sand down the architrave (trim) which we fit as a surround on our folding attic stairs. It gets a lot of use but never lets us down, not to mention it leaves our timber architraves with a great finish.

Belt

Top Picks: DeWalt / Hitachi / Makita

Our Choice: Makita - They just make sanders properly. Makita is again our recommendation, powerful reliable and smooth.

Chop Saws

(For on site use a power tool must be 110v and used with a transformer, for home use 240v with a standard plug is fine)

Top Picks: DeWalt / Hitachi / Makita

Our Choice: Makita - We use a Makita chop saw for just about everything you can use a chop saw for. We have been using our latest one, daily, for about 8 years. Balanced, powerful and reliable.

Hand Tools

Hammers

(There are many different types of hammers, designed for specific uses, for general use, to get most jobs done, we recommend claw hammers)

Top Picks: Estwing / Stanley

Our Choice: Estwing - The king of hammers. Balanced, well designed and unbreakable.

Handsaws

(There are many different types of handsaws, designed for specific uses, for general use, we recommend medium grade 22 inch saws)

Top Picks: Bacho / Stanley / Irwin

Our Choice: Bacho - We use the Bacho "Barracuda" everyday when fitting our attic stairs and attic flooring. Easily the most well balanced and easy to use handsaw.

Spirit Levels

Top Picks: Stanley / Irwin

Our Choice: Both - Take your pick, we use both and everything comes out level!

Measuring Tapes

(We recommend an 8m tape if you need to measure long distances or measure at height, such as across a ceiling)

Top Picks: Stanley / Stanley / Stanley / Stanley

Our Choice: For the best design and build, buy a Stanley. We all use Stanley tapes, for when we are providing our free measuring and quote and when we are installing and attic stairs and attic flooring for you.

Do you have an interest in buying our products wholesale?

We are the Irish importer for three major European manufacturers of folding attic stairs and related products. We keep a large stock of many of our models and being importers we have direct relationships with our manufactures meaning we have the capacity to order an endless amount of stock.

If you are a buyer for a hardware chain or indeed you own your own hardware, please do not hesitate to get in contact with us regarding pricing, quantities etc.

If you have an interest in becoming an agent for us, feel free to contact us regarding available areas etc.

If you would like to buy any of our products supply only for your builder to install you may call or email us for pricing etc. delivery time will be one to five workings days throughout the Republic of Ireland.